Zeitgeist Films and Syncopy are partnering on a national tour of select Quay Brothers' films (curated by Christopher Nolan and including his new short film, Quay, about the inner workings of the London-based animators' studio), as well as a Blu-ray edition of The Quay Brothers: Collected Short Films. The Blu-ray arrives on October 20th and features Nolan's short film as well as 15 Quay shorts in high-definition, including 3 not available on Zeitgeist's previous DVD collection.
American identical twins working in London, stop motion animators Stephen and Timothy Quay (born 1947 in Norristown, Pennsylvania) find their inspiration in Eastern European literature and classical music and art, their work distinguished by its dark humor and an uncanny feeling for color and texture. The Quays have been making their unique blend of puppetry and stop-motion animation for over 30 years and have spawned an enormous cult following. Masters of miniaturization, they turn their tiny sets into unforgettable worlds suggestive of long-repressed childhood dreams.
Three Quay masterworks have been selected by director Christopher Nolan and will be presented theatrically in the 70-minute, 4-film The Quay Brothers in 35mm. Broken pencils and lead shavings create In Absentia (2000; "a dazzling piece of work" - The Guardian); a porcelain doll's explorations of a dreamer's imagination in The Comb (1991; "most beautiful of their recent films" - The New Yorker); and the nightmarish netherworld of Street of Crocodiles (1986; "their crowning achievement" - Film Comment); and, for the first time ever, Quay (2015), Nolan's new short film about the Quay Brothers.
The Quay Brothers in 35mm is being released as part of an 11-City theatrical tour, with in-person appearances in select markets starting August 19th in NYC. The program will travel to 10 additional cities, including Dallas (Alamo Drafthouse Richardson, 9/3-7), LA (Cinefamily, 9/4-10 with appearances by Nolan), Houston (Museum of Fine Arts, 9/12-13), Austin (Alamo Drafthouse Ritz, 9/17), Cleveland (Cleveland Cinematheque, 9/24-27), Boston (Brattle Theatre, 9/25-10/1), Detroit (Detroit Institute of Art, 10/9-11), Seattle (SIFF Film Center, 10/9-15), Chicago (The Music Box Theatre, 10/16-22) and Toronto (TIFF Bell Lightbox Theater, 10/27). All four films will be shown exclusively in 35mm.
Following the theatrical tour, The Quay Brothers: Collected Short Films Blu-ray will be released on October 20th.